APEIRON Biologics AG strengthens shareholder structure and Supervisory Board with international anchor investor

• British investor consortium Franklin Road Ltd. increases its stake in APEIRON Biologics significantly to over 13%
• Extraordinary General Meeting elects Edward Charles MA, Managing Director of Franklin Road Ltd., as a new Supervisory Board member

Vienna, Austria, 15 October 2020: APEIRON Biologics AG announced a significant strengthening of the shareholder structure and a new member of the Supervisory Board at its Extraordinary General Meeting.

The British investor consortium Franklin Road Limited significantly increased its stake in APEIRON Biologics. Franklin Road had already participated in the capital increase of June 2020, and at that time was unable to acquire further shares due to the oversubscription of the capital increase. As part of a secondary offering, Franklin Road acquired shares from existing shareholders, increasing its stake in the company from just under 1% to 13.06%.

Due to the increased participation of Franklin Road in the company, Edward Charles, MA, Managing Director, was elected as a new member of the Supervisory Board of APEIRON Biologics AG at yesterday's extraordinary general meeting. The contacts and the strong network of the new anchor investor represents an important foundation for the further strategic development of APEIRON Biologics.

"Franklin Road's involvement with APEIRON Biologics strengthens our shareholder structure and has at the same time enabled long-standing and loyal shareholders to successfully realize their investment in our company," said Peter Llewellyn-Davies, CEO of APEIRON Biologics AG. "Since June 2020, around EUR 40 million of private and public funding have contributed to APEIRON Biologics' financing rounds. A case study recently published in the prestigious journal for the first time shows encouraging data on the treatment of a COVID-19 patient with APN01. I would like to thank everyone involved for this excellent result."

Edward Charles MA, Managing Director of Franklin Road Ltd., commented: "We are excited to back APEIRON Biologics' development pipeline, both its COVID-19 and immuno-oncology treatments. These both have the potential to change completely patient survival outcomes. We are here to support the APEIRON team in the challenge to bring these unique and urgently needed therapies to market as quickly and safely as possible. We look forward to the results of the current clinical phase II trial for APN01, the COVID-19 treatment, in the next months."

Dr. Manfred Reichl, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of APEIRON Biologics AG, is pleased: "The strengthening and internationalization of our shareholder base and our Supervisory Board create a solid framework for working on our ongoing clinical studies on COVID-19 and in immuno-oncology. We warmly welcome Ed as representative of our new anchor investor and Supervisory Board member and are pleased that APEIRON Biologics can benefit from his commitment, his many years of business experience and his excellent contacts."

About Franklin Road Limited

Franklin Road Limited is an investor consortium with UK and European private investors and family foundations.

About APEIRON Biologics AG

APEIRON Biologics AG is a European private biotechnology company based in Vienna, Austria, that specializes in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel immunotherapies for cancer and respiratory diseases. APEIRON's APN01 / alunacedase alfa (rhsACE2) is undergoing a Phase II trial to treat COVID-19.

APEIRON Biologics has an approved product on the market, Qarziba(R), for the treatment of pediatric neuroblastoma patients, which is distributed worldwide by EUSA Pharma. The company's clinical program APN401 is a first-in-class autologous cellular therapy to strengthen immune reactivity via targeting the intracellular master checkpoint, Cbl-b.

APEIRON Biologics' projects and technologies are based on a strong patent portfolio and partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions.
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Peter Llewellyn-Davies, CEO
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FUTURE-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements reflect the opinion of APEIRON Biologics at the time of this press release. Such forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are dependent on many risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of APEIRON's management. This could mean that the actual results differ materially from the forecasts in these forward-looking statements. We expressly assume no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements regarding changed expectations of the parties or regarding new events, conditions or circumstances on which these statements are based.

^[1] Zoufaly A. et al., The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 2020, S2213-2600(20)30418-5 DOI: /10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30418-5